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Staff Sgt. Bruce Webb said the man was using a rice cooker when the mixture overheated, exploded and set the man on fire.

"What the gentleman was doing was very, very dangerous. He will be scarred for life with his burns. There is extensive fire, smoke and water damage to his home," Webb said. "It's just a terrible tragedy for an event that was highly illegal."

The man is being treated in the burn unit at the Queen Elizabeth II hospital.

While the man has a licence to possess medical marijuana, it remains illegal for anyone to make hash or hash oil.

Webb said police will monitor the man's condition before they make a decision about laying drug charges.

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Is this really possible for the mixture to "overheat" as they claim? Sounds like they don't really know what they are talking about. Not sure how rice cookers work, but there must have been an open flame somewhere, or at least a spark.

Either way the guys a dumbass, kinda funny actually... Lol look outside, theres some guy in his scorched underwear.

Warning to all here who like to play solvents. That basement must have been absolutely full of fumes. Two house explosions so close together, the media is probably going to take this and run. Have fun Fox.

Dozens of supporters held a get-well vigil outside a Halifax hospital Saturday for a burn victim critically injured in a recent house fire in metro.

They were there to align themselves in spirit with Chris Backer, a Lower Sackville man who was in his basement making hash oil last Saturday when an explosion and fire forced him to flee his home.

The 40-year-old has a permit to use medicinal marijuana, which he’s said he uses to help manage Crohn’s disease, a chronic bowel disorder that has no cure. Oils often amplify the medical benefits of the plant.

Friends at the event off Summer Street wanted to express their unconditional support for a person they said is a loyal, warm-hearted fellow. They signed a book of good wishes and many wore fundraising T-shirts that had a photograph of Backer taken on his wedding day.

"If you asked him to help you move, he’s the guy who’s at your house at seven in the morning with coffees," said Ryen Passey, of Lower Sackville.

"He’s one guy you can always count on."

Passey said the use of medical marijuana has "considerably" helped Backer with his Crohn’s. "Marijuana was really the only (medication) that improved his quality of life."

Crohn’s disease can cause pain, frequent bowel movements, bloating and fatigue. Sometimes surgery is necessary to remove a diseased section of the bowel.

Backer was alone in his house at 6 Margaret St. when it caught fire. He’s now in the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre burn unit.

Vigil participants were visited by Backer’s wife, Trena, who hugged attendees and spoke privately with several of them.

About 50 people took part in the vigil, which was held on a grassy site between the medical centre and Citadel High School. T-shirts were selling for $20. The proceeds were going towards repairing the Backers’ fire- and smoke-damaged home and to help cover their bills.

Because Backer is in hospital and can’t work and his wife is focusing on her husband’s recovery, "their earning potential is going to be drastically reduced," Brad MacDonald explained.

He said Backer is a full-time photocopier technician with a firm in Dartmouth. The cannabis use allowed his buddy to keep working and avoid Crohn’s-related hospital stays.

"He hasn’t been hospitalized in many years because of it and was able to sustain his employment consistently for the last five years," MacDonald told The Chronicle Herald.